Raj, regarding your point as to why bother executing a fight scene admirably when the fight situation itself is unrealistic and not likely to happen in real life,the issue is about suspension of disbelief. Well executed scenes dont even give you a chance to think about the plausibility of that happening in real life. It lies in the execution. Having conceived of a scene where Naren had to find the inner hero in him, a fight scene was inevitable. So I am not sure how much Myskin can blame the producer in the firstb place(unless he had thought of a completely different non-violent scene to convey the same). If that fight scene was handled in a more mature manner, who knows you might not even be questioning as to how Naren walks out of that hospital alive. As it stands, it looked more like as if Myskin was intentionally mocking the producer and other masala films with that scene by making it look extra ridiculous

Songs are a different issue altogether. There I can sympathize with Myskin’s predicament more(like the ridiculous duet song that he had to include) even though he handled “kaththaazham kannaala” really well and made it look like less of a compromise. Imagine if he had shot that song in a lavish set, Shankar-style with MTV models. Instead he kept the setting and mood even with the rest of the film. That was an example of a compromise handled not badly.
A lot of what happens onscreen, even in artistically ambitious movies, probably never really happens that way in real life(for instance how much of Anbe Sivam is plausible, think about it). It is the treatment that makes the difference in terms of how much you want to believe.

Myskin is just 2 films old and he certainly deserves to be cut some slack. When he gets more experienced he will probably learn to integrate compromises seamlessly into his movies a la Mani rathnam(who himself stumbled badly with ridiculous comedy tracks in Agni natchathiram and Idhayathai thirudaadhe and quickly learned from it), to the point where some ppl now want to watch Rathnam’s movies just for the compromises(like songs) And then eventually he will reach another level where he can get rid of those compromises altogether and make his kind of films.

I was also reminded of another thing during this discussion
Myskin’s “crime” here is more excusable compared to what Gautam did in Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu(came to know of it thru Baradwaj’s interview), where he was’nt even supposedly present for 2 songs and his assistants shot them. I can agree being miffed at having to compromise, but how can you call the film your baby and not even be present for shooting that accounts for a solid 10 mins of on-screen time? Such indifference. And his assistants promptly bungled it up. Asking Kamal to lip-sync in Uyirile enadhu uyirile was thoroughly jarring when the song should have been completely in the background like in Balu Mahendra’s moviers.It resembled a mid-80s masala movie song like Kaakki sattai with Kamal trying to be 25 yrs old, beckoning to Jyothika with outstretched arms It was embarassing even to watch. I dont know how Kamal did it, especially when he appeared like a 40ish cop rest of the movie.

“I suppose even Vijay would be making his own compromises on his output at some point somewhere though looking at all his writing over the net, you would think he is bharathiyar reincarnated, suffering in penury for his ideals.”

LOL, come on I am nowhere near that demanding or idealistic ). I have often scaled back my expectations and demands after learning about the ppl/circumstances involved behind the creation and also if it is a newcomer who is involved. It is just that from time to time I tend to expect more from artists with quite a resume(like a Kamal or ILyaraja or Rahman or Mani Rathnam) and when I feel let down I get upset a little bit. Natural response as a fan, I suppose.
Having seen Anjadhey as a whole now, my impressions have been mostly positive overall despite my earlier complaints. Even this fight scene complaint is only borne out of angst. Having gotten quite a few things right in the movie, why did he have to bungle it up like this in a regular straightforward fight scene is the thought. If this scene had been in Pokkiri, would I be complaining about it ? Unfortunately in a movie like this it stick out like a sore thumb. Same problem with Vasanth and his films. He sets a realistic tone and then sometimes goofs it up by including some rather cliched scenes and blunt in-your-face compromises(Rhythem, hey nee romba azhaga irukka, nee paadhi naan paadhi all had such instances)

Sorry for the long post. Filling up Baradwaj’s space makes me guilty

Like you said, almost each frame is filled with the “director’s touch”. The composition, framing and editing were just out of this world. As mentioned in his interview, the Kurosawa influence is obvious in scenes like Narain’s first day on the job where he is sitting on chair with his back to us right in the middle of the frame. The camera racks focus between the two “parts” of the split frame, to show us the action. Right out of the Kurosawa playbook.

As for the amateurish fight scene, maybe it is Mysskin’s revenge on the producers for forcing him to direct the fight scene or maybe he handed it over to a second unit.

I hope someday Mysskin will direct a movie scripted by somebody else. Anjaathe’s script was very uneven capped with an overly long, nauseatingly melodramatic, Scooby doo inspired climax.

2. Exactly. I let the characters take the course they wanted to. I, the creator became a pawn in their hands. They took me in a direction they wanted to go. In the case of Nanda Lala too, the characters decided what they wanted to do. As a writer, I had no desire to control my characters. I just let them move in life

1 sounds genuine to me and 2 sounds more like a general-look-i-am-different-and-so-clever or thanks-for-the-cue-let-me-yap-something-that-makes-me-sound-like-a-genius kind of claim.

Some here felt that the fight scene was amateur and brought the film down by several notches and in contrast to the other parts. Now, isnt this the problem with TF. Producres would much rather have a amatuer fight scene than not have it at all? It is easy to say he should not have compromised his vision and addded them for name sake. but if you are a filmmaker who has been rejected by several production houses and you find a producer who is willing to take your script on with just these minor compromises, what do you do really?

Your point about the director’s unwillingness to quit while he’s ahead is quite valid. If all it did was dim the effectiveness threshold, I wouldn’t have minded so much. But in some cases, it makes one feel genuinely uncomfortable.

The scene with the mirror, for instance. It goes on for at least thirty seconds after it’s made its point.

Or the scene on how the crime branch guys deal with the villain in the end. It is a well-intentioned scene, and works on multiple levels. Trouble is, again, it’s just a little slower, a little longer than necessary. It gets to the point where it feels almost fetishistic.

Also, it’s the unevenness of the movie that gets to me. There are moments that feel realistic, then they get marred by something very staged and obviously intended for dramatic effect. It’s like watching a film made by someone with multiple personality disorder.

~r

In your piece about Sujatha, you talk about the Western sensibility he brings. I’ve always felt you bring a very Indian sensibility to a rather Western tradition of reviews. That I like!

If I have one bone to pick, it’s about a certain mush-factor when describing the beauty of the actors (Jodhaa Akbar is one example!).